Written evidence submitted by Mrs Edwina Osborne (Private Individual) [PKS 374]
Overview
1. I am writing as an individual who loves and makes regular use of a range of parks. I am a Civil Servant and I use parks in a private capacity with my family and particularly with my dog and with my pre-school aged son who obviously greatly enjoys the open space and the playgrounds.
2. Over the past few years, as I have become a regular park user, I have been increasingly concerned at the impact of council cutbacks on parks and open spaces. For this reason, I set up a Facebook and Twitter page (https://www.facebook.com/friendsjubileeparklondonn9 and https://twitter.com/jubileeparkn9) which are both designed to provide greater community awareness of what is happening in my local park and the surrounding area.
In response to your specific terms of reference, my thoughts are as follows:
- Who uses parks and open spaces, how often and for what
3. I am not a parks professional or expert, but an ordinary parks user. From my own experience, parks and open spaces are one of the few community spaces (along with libraries) which are used by ALL members of the community (regardless of age, social background, income or other social variables) and which we can all enjoy together.
4. Understandably usage will vary depending on age, work or social priorities. I went to local parks a lot when I was younger, but for many years didn’t go to a park unless to meet up occasionally with friends. However, like a second wind, I started to far greater use of parks and open spaces after we got our dog in 2010. Then in 2013 our son was born and again our use of parks changed again and focused on juggling using playgrounds, as well as walking my dog.
5. Looking at fellow park users in my local park, users comprise for instance:
- children (and their parents) of all ages using the playground
- dog walkers
- cyclists
- remote control car enthusiasts
- golfers
- people playing tennis, football, table tennis, basketball
- people doing general exercise
- Members of the Friends of the Park aged over 50 attending weekly health walks
- local people using park during lunch break, after school to relax
- people who love nature eg trees, ponds etc
- the list could go and on and on……
6. Again there are obviously peak times of usage, both on a daily, weekly and monthly basis. Summer during school holidays and after school being busy times. As a dog walker you are often privileged to see parks and open spaces in all seasons and different times of day and week and you notice the changing patterns of use at different times.
7. Ultimately, parks are vital for all – adults, children and dogs – as areas to escape from the daily grind, to play and to relax and let off steam. This is vital for us all.
- The contribution of parks to the health and well-being of communities
8. Parks are absolutely vital to the health and well-being of local communities. This is clear from a wide range of research. For instance in 2013 the City of London produced a discussion paper on “Green Spaces: The Benefits for London” (http://www.cityoflondon.gov.uk/business/economic-research-and-information/research-publications/Documents/research-2013/Green-Spaces-The-Benefits-for-London.pdf) which clearly lays out the positives of parks. Groundwork UK has also produced a report highlighting the benefits of green spaces in term of health, economics and socially (http://www.operationgroundwork.org.uk/take-action/media-centre/report-launched-at-rhs-chelsea-flower-show/the-benefits-of-green-space).
9. Such positive benefits are also made in relation to research into parks overseas (admittedly out of the scope of your inquiry). However, it is interesting to note the messages contained in infographics produced by US firm, Active Living Research. For instance they have produced infographics about the relationship between children and nature (Another useful reference point is research http://activelivingresearch.org/blog/2012/05/infographic-children-nature-being-active-nature-makes-kids-healthier) and about the impact of parks in communities (see attached infographic). Whilst this is US oriented it can equally be applied to analysis of UK parks and their immeasurable value.
10. The value of parks is especially important in the area where I live in Edmonton, which is a particularly deprived area of London both socially and economically. The latest health report for 2015 for Enfield is published at http://www.apho.org.uk/resource/item.aspx?RID=171829. This includes data which shows the most deprived areas of the borough (on the eastern side) are where there are the most health concerns – particularly in terms of obesity and diabetes
11. Enfield Council are also on the one hand are promoting Health Champions across the borough and have also installed exercise equipment in all parks. However, at the same time, they sadly and frustratingly chose to stop paying for the Council to be involved in the ‘Our Parks programme’ which is a project run by Born Barikor in a number of London boroughs. As a result of pulling out of funding this programme, which runs free organised exercise sessions in parks, I think usage of parks is made less attractive and people have less incentive to use parks for health reasons.
12. Without the local park my son and dog would go stir crazy (and we are fortunate to live in a house with a garden). Many other local people in Ponders End and Edmonton live in rented accommodation and flats with no garden and with young children. The park is therefore even more essential to their wellbeing.
- The impact of reductions in local authority budgets on parks
13. From my perspective, the reduction in local authority budgets means that there are less staff on hand to maintain the parks to a good standard and less local knowledge built up about individual park users and needs. Every park in Enfield is very different. The loss of staff and expertise means that
14. By spending less on parks, there is a greater risk of people seeing their neighbourhood as rundown which leads to more people taking less care and thinking that the area is an easy target for flytipping and other anti-social behaviour eg graffiti and destroying play equipment.
15. Specifically in Enfield, the local council has also had to make major decisions about whether to continue to lock parks at night (where they are lockable). Although the council agreed to continue to lock parks for now, the issue might be discussed again. A lot of residents were concerned about the potential risks of criminal damage in the parks or risk of criminal behaviour.
- What the administrative status of parks should be in light of declining local authority resources for non-statutory services
16. Parks should be protected as essential community assets under central government statute. My local park is already designated as a Field in Trust park, but I don’t know how much protection this means long term legally.
17. Making parks private and self-paying would not work in my local park (Jubilee Park) which has no essential “selling points”. This means the park does not generate revenue in any way (eg by hosting big events unlike bigger local countryside parks such as Trent Park or the main Enfield Town Park). People locally would not be able to afford to pay for a private park and the elderly,and the very young would miss out on using the park.
- How new and existing parks can best be supported
18. As a first step, parks should be provided for under statutory legislation. Special money should be set aside for parks.
- What additional or alternative funding is available and what scope is there for local authorities to generate revenue from park users
19. As indicated above, I don’t think my local park is in a position to generate revenue itself. Potentially local businesses might contribute to the park, but this would put more pressure on business rates, which would prove unpopular. There is no single unique source of funding or benefactor that I would be aware of that could provide alternative funding.
20. Other local Enfield parks are in parts of the borough that are wealthier and have more income generating functions and in these parks, alternative funding might be possible, however this would be very hard, as often such funding is raised by volunteers which is not always reliable.
21. It should be remembered that many Friends of Parks groups are run by well meaning often elderly retired people often led by only one or two dynamic individuals and not every voluntary group is able to draw on vast numbers of supporters. The Friends of Jubilee Park is a prime example of a low key Friends Group which is not focused on generating extra funds. Its primary focus is on running a weekly health walk for the over 50s.
- What the advantages and disadvantages are of other management models, such as privatisation, outsourcing or mutualisation
22. I don’t know enough about either of these proposed alternative models to comment in detail, however, I don’t think privatisation of parks is a workable solution. I presume that by privatising parks, an organisation would take over the running of one or more parks – popular parks in city centres might be feasible for being privatised due to footfall volume and opportunity to generate a return on the upkeep of running the park with holding money making events – but this is not the objective of parks – they should be marketing and brand free zones (on the whole). Private companies might also take the opportunity to close ‘quieter’ parks or those that can’t run their own events. There is also the risk that private companies might set rules on who is free to visit the park, leading to a situation where people are excluded from parks for a range of reasons.
23. I am not aware of the specifics of how outsourcing and mutualisation would help in an area like Edmonton which is an established urban area of London. They might work in new build residential areas and I am aware that there a number of open space land management companies, however, long term I don’t such organisations are an answer to the need for real everyday people to access parks and open spaces.
24. If parks became privatised in some shape or form, I fear that there would be far less flexibility for me to visit a range of parks and open spaces with my dog and son when and where I choose to. This will lead to me being stuck in an area I don’t want to be. Spending time in different parks in Enfield (which has some great parks – eg Grovelands, Trent Park, Whitewebbs, Forty Hall, Bury Lodge, Jubilee Park and many more – as well as others in neighbouring boroughs – is a pleasure and a chance for my son and dog to explore life together. It brings me untold joy and that would be highly likely to be curtailed as a result.
Final thoughts
25. I apologise for not being concise I hope my response has conveyed the passion with which I appreciate all types of different parks for the long term. To paraphrase the Barclaycard adverts of a few years ago “the UK’s parks and open spaces are priceless” to me and my family and hopefully for generations to come.
26. I end with a few quotes from more eloquent people then I:
"Urban parks are one of Britain's great, green creations" - Richard Rogers, architect
“The nation behaves well if it treats its natural resources as assets which it must turn over to the next generation increased, and not impaired, in value.”
― Theodore Roosevelt, former US President
“The more successfully a city mingles everyday diversity of uses and users in its everyday streets, the more successfully, casually (and economically) its people thereby enliven and support well-located parks that can thus give back grace and delight to their neighborhoods instead of vacuity. ”
― Jane Jacobs, The Death and Life of Great American Cities
Libraries and parks are temples for the mind and fillips for the soul…..We weep at the destruction of habitats overseas. We see Islamic State burning books as a sign of its barbarity, and mourn the loss of Alexandria library 2000 years on. Yet we’re letting our own parks and libraries be eroded – chipping away at nature and knowledge” - Rosamund Unwin, Evening Standard columnist